The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Hints

Is there a special way to build a superior stealth character in Skyrim?

• 1 of 9: No, not like there was in Morrowind, Oblivion, and Fallout 3, anyway. That's because there's no Chameleon-type effect in Skyrim that allows you to be invisible all the time. However, there are several important tips that anyone who's wanting to build a serious stealth character should know.
• 2 of 9: First off, you shouldn't focus on developing all of the skills classified as stealth skills while totally ignoring all of the combat and magic skills. For instance, Archery is classified as a combat skill, but it's one of the most important stealth skills in the game due to the value of sneaky ranged attacks. Also, Speech is a stealth skill, but is totally unrelated to sneaking around.
• 3 of 9: Your most important skills are Sneak, Archery, Alchemy, and possibly Illusion. It's obvious why Sneak is important, since sneaking around undetected is the whole point of stealth. As for Illusion, it's the spell school that includes the Muffle and Invisibility spells, which are of tremendous value when sneaking around.
• 4 of 9: The Alchemy skill is important because it can be used to make Invisibility potions, which can be used instead of the spell. Once you've maxed out your crafting potential (see the Item-Crafting Tips), you can make Invisibility potions that last for 130 seconds, which is way longer than the spell lasts. You could also replace the Muffle spell by wearing some boots that have the Muffle effect on them, but the spell is fairly long-lasting, and you may want to wear other boots with other enchantments.
• 5 of 9: So your basic stealth routine is this: Crouch down and cast the Muffle spell so you can sneak around without making a sound, and use Invisibility potions when you need to sneak right by someone without them seeing you. For combat, keep your distance and use a bow (preferably a powerful enchanted one) to take down your targets.
• 6 of 9: Sneaky bow attacks can be incredibly powerful once you max out your Archery potential. To do that, get your Archery skill up to 100 and get its best perks, especially Overdraw (5 ranks), Critical Shot (3 ranks), Eagle Eye, and Steady Hand (2 ranks). The Sneak skill's Deadly Aim perk is also a must. After you max out your crafting potential, make yourself a Daedric bow, improve it to the max, and enchant it with two powerful damage effects like Fire Damage and Shock Damage. Also make yourself a four-part archery outfit (helmet, gauntlets, necklace, ring) that has the Fortify Archery effect on each piece. For even more damage, make Fortify Archery potions and Damage Health poisons to use right before attacking.
  • Arrow Duplication Trick
• 7 of 9: Magic summoning staffs are also valuable long-distance weapons, especially before your bow power gets very high. Staffs that summon conjured creatures have a much greater range than the equivalent spells do. When you see enemies way off in the distance, crouch down and use a summoning staff to create a creature at a point near them. If you're far enough away, you won't be detected, and you can keep summoning creatures long-distance to do all the combat for you.
  • Is there a way to conjure an atronach without having to cast a spell?
• 8 of 9: If you take certain Sneak skill perks (like Backstab and Assassin's Blade), you can deal massive up-close sneak-attack damage, but I would advise you not to bother. You'd have to be very careful, or use an Invisibility potion, to sneak up behind enemies undetected in most cases. That and the fact that stealthy bow attacks can be so powerful makes melee sneak attacks more trouble than they're worth. (The same goes for getting the Pickpocket skill's perks that allow you to pickpocket an enemy's equipped weapon and armor, and the one that lets you pickpocket poisons into his inventory to damage him.)
• 9 of 9: Even though it doesn't focus on stealth skills early on, the character build given in the New Character Build hints is a good one to use, with perhaps a minor substitution or two. For instance, you might want to train up your Archery skill early on instead of Heavy Armor. If so, you could train with Faendal after making him a follower, thereby avoiding the problem of leveling up too fast by having to pickpocket your money back after every training session. Everything else should pretty much stay the same, especially the emphasis on maxing out your crafting skills early.

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